Amazon actually pays significantly above the minimum wage, this frequently leads to complaints by businesses located near their plants that they have to hike their pay in response to still get workers. NYT did a nice article on this two years ago: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/05/business/economy/amazon-w...
That's true, but I don't think it's altruism. Working conditions that incent people to urinate in a bottle to avoid being marked as slow...tend to mean higher wages are needed to close that deal.
Higher being relative, of course. I know from a historical perspective that warehouse work in the 1980's, after a couple of years, was enough to pay for a modest apartment and car, etc. It's not now.
Leaving aside Amazon's appalling labour record, I do think this is a brilliant strategy to lure away the highest quality workers from nearby factories and warehouses. I am sure it is part of their decision making when deciding where to build a new warehouse.
